We suggest a disentangling approach according to which the use of referring expressions obeys two types of guidelines. Deviance in repeating referential expressions (R-expressions) can result from two possible sources: one is the violation of the syntactic principle C, ruling out configurations in which c-command holds between the two identical R-expressions; the other is a Go-Lighter (GL) economy principle, applying in discourse and arguably based on shared knowledge and theory of mind (TOM), operative also in environments in which c-command does not hold. To examine this disentangling approach, we tested 36 brain-damaged patients: 20 who had aTOMia, a deficit in TOM, and 16 brain-damaged patients with good TOM, and 29 healthy control participants. Experiment 1 tested the comprehension of principles A and B using a sentence-picture-matching task. Experiment 2 tested principles C and GL using a sentence-choice task. Experiment 3 tested sentence interpretation according to principles C and GL using sentence-picture matching. In line with the disentangling approach, the individuals with poor TOM (and good syntax) failed to rule out and interpret repeating expressions that rely solely on the Go-Lighter principle, but succeeded in judging and interpreting sentences in which the repetition is ruled out by the syntactic principle C.
Balaban, N., Belletti, A., Friedmann, N., Rizzi, L. (2016). Disentangling principle C: A contribution from individuals with brain damage. LINGUA, 169, 1-20 [10.1016/j.lingua.2015.09.004].
Disentangling principle C: A contribution from individuals with brain damage
BELLETTI, ADRIANA;RIZZI, LUIGI
2016-01-01
Abstract
We suggest a disentangling approach according to which the use of referring expressions obeys two types of guidelines. Deviance in repeating referential expressions (R-expressions) can result from two possible sources: one is the violation of the syntactic principle C, ruling out configurations in which c-command holds between the two identical R-expressions; the other is a Go-Lighter (GL) economy principle, applying in discourse and arguably based on shared knowledge and theory of mind (TOM), operative also in environments in which c-command does not hold. To examine this disentangling approach, we tested 36 brain-damaged patients: 20 who had aTOMia, a deficit in TOM, and 16 brain-damaged patients with good TOM, and 29 healthy control participants. Experiment 1 tested the comprehension of principles A and B using a sentence-picture-matching task. Experiment 2 tested principles C and GL using a sentence-choice task. Experiment 3 tested sentence interpretation according to principles C and GL using sentence-picture matching. In line with the disentangling approach, the individuals with poor TOM (and good syntax) failed to rule out and interpret repeating expressions that rely solely on the Go-Lighter principle, but succeeded in judging and interpreting sentences in which the repetition is ruled out by the syntactic principle C.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/11365/1004563